My first contact with what now seems to be called social networks was
with The WELL and with the USEINC BBS. Both environments were pretty
mellow and if there were incipient flamefests, the sysops came down hard
on the miscreants.
It was via The WELL that I got access to the newsgroups and the vicious
flamewars, of which MES is an example, but certainly not the only case,
maybe not even the worst.
--
Requiescas in pace o email Two identifying characteristics
of System Administrators:
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio Infallibility, and the ability to
learn from their mistakes.
(Adapted from Stephen Pinker)